If you follow me on social media, chances are, you've probably seen the overwhelming excitement that's been bubbling over on my twitter, instagram, and facebook pages; I've started (co-founded) a business!Effie Box is a new, fun, pretty amazing (I am not biased, at all), hassle-free, glitter-filled DIY subscription box service, which allows
megababes (that's you!) to get crafty with monthly boxes in the post.Basically, Effie Box is a monthly subscription box (think Birchbox or Glossybox), filled with everything you need to complete a different (surprise) crafty project, every month. You don't have to be a DIY goddess, and you don't have to have a stash of crafting supplies lurking around the house. Everything you need is right there, in the box.I'm so excited to finally be sharing this with you all, it's been quite a long time coming, and I really hope it'll be something that some of you will be interested in; I know there's a tonne of creativity in the blogging community, so I'm excited to hear some feedback if any of you do subscribe!

You can read a little more about Effie Box over on the brand blog, or subscribe for just £8/month, here - do it before the 31st of July, and you'll be getting the first-ever Effie Box in the first couple of weeks of August!

Flowers are my favourite thing about the warmer months; nothing beats having a fresh arrangement sitting on your nightstand, or the gorgeous floral notes that greet you as you open your front door.

Having said that, spring/summer never seem to last long here in London, and the first chill of autumn tends to move in pretty quickly, taking all the fresh flora with it.

Luckily for those of us who can't quite beat the post-bloom blues, though, artificial flowers are making one heck of a comeback, at the moment, and the options are ever-growing. Whilst they'll never have that smell, they are a lot more versatile than their natural counterparts; which means those of thus who have the crafting bug (read: addiction) can have a floral fix in our decor, no matter the weather.

I spotted these wooden letters on a trip to Hobbycraft a few weeks ago, and knew it would be the perfect home for some artificial blooms, but you could just as easily use an empty shoebox or old container if you wanted to.

The other supplies you'll need are tissue paper and PVA glue to cover the outside (I used Decopatch papers and Matte Modge Podge, because I already had some going spare, but generic brands will work just as well), and some artificial flowers and dry oasis to fill the shape. (I got my dry oasis here and usually get my artificial flowers at a local market or from Hobbycraft, here).

The first step is covering whichever shape you're filling, although you could always paint it or leave it plain. If you are using tissue, like I did, though, you'll want to start by tearing each piece into rectangles about an inch wide. Once you've done this, it's time to embrace your inner wannabe 'Art Attack' presenter, and coat the whole thing in glue before applying the strips of tissue however you'd like onto the outside of your shape. Just remember to coat the whole thing in glue to finish it, when you're done.

Once you've covered the shape, and it's completely dry, it's time for the fun (and messy!) bit - filling it in! The easiest way to do this for an abstract shape, like mine, is to press the shape into the block of dry oasis, as far down as it'll go, and use this as a template; then, all you have to do is use a craft knife to cut out chunks of the oasis to fit your shape!

Make sure you pack your oasis nice and tightly into your shape, so it doesn't go anywhere - as long as there are no huge gaps, you won't need any glue to hold it in place. Once it's all in there, it's time to get creative with your flowers: I opted to buy hydrangeas and azaleas, as there tend to be more small blooms on each stem, but this is obviously completely up to you, and if you're buying online, don't forget to check whether the stems are wire or not - I have wire cutters at home, but trying to separate blooms from their wire stems without these would not be a pleasant experience!

As far as arranging the blooms, I recommend just picking a colour scheme, snipping a bunch of individual flowers, and going for trial and error - the great thing about the dry oasis is that you can take the flowers out and move them around as much as you need to, so just keep playing around until you get something you like!

Are you planning on trying this DIY? As always, feel free to get in touch if you do, I love seeing completed projects!